The plane carrying the chief of staff of the Libyan army crashed about 74 kilometers from Ankara. Credit: AA/ABACA / Abaca Press / Profimedia
The plane carrying the Chief of Staff of the Libyan Army, Mohammed Ali Ahmed Al-Haddad, crashed in Turkey, and Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah confirmed the death of the general and his delegation, according to Reuters, AFP and BBC.
General Mohammed Ali Ahmed Al-Haddad and four other people were on board a Falcon 50 plane that had taken off from the Turkish capital, Ankara.
Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya announced in a post on X that the aircraft's signal was lost about 42 minutes after takeoff.
Before the signal was lost, the plane, which was supposed to be heading to Tripoli, had requested permission to make an emergency landing.
The Prime Minister of Libya confirmed the death of the head of the army
The prime minister of Libya's UN-recognised government of national unity announced in a post on X that he received the news “with deep sadness and grief”, confirming the death of General Mohammed Ali Ahmed Al-Haddad and the other members of his delegation.
TRT World writes that along with Al-Haddad, the chief of staff of the land forces, the head of the military production authority, an adviser to the head of the army and a photographer of the media office also died.
Turkey's interior minister said gendarmes found the plane “about two kilometers south of Kesikkavak village in Haymana district”, 74 kilometers from Ankara.
Turkey's Defense Ministry had previously announced that the Libyan army chief was on a visit to Ankara, where he met with his Turkish counterpart and other military commanders. The visit was part of military and security coordination between the two countries.
